Protective headgear



Patented Dec. 19, 1944 SIJA'I'ESV I PATENT 'OFFICIS I 1 l y 2,365,656. l`1 raorno'rlvn HEADGEAn George M. Lamsa, Philadelphiara. ApplicationJanuary 27, 1943,.,s`eria1Ne. 473,733

` vl'cl.v 2 4) 4 Claims.

The present invention relates to newt and im-- proved means forprotecting the face andfhead Worn with a minimum of discomfort and whichmay' effect 4its intended, function;` of' protectingA thef'wearer-l-efg.afsoldi'er in tropical countries where troublesome insects abound-duringtheday or while the wearer: is `engaged'in his work as well as duri-ngthe night while the wearerA is asleep. i l

A further. object. ofthe invention isv to provi-de a relationship ofparts'freefof metallicl or sim.- ilar parts which may interfere with thewearers comfort as, for example, when he is' asleep,y and which shall bereadily'foldable into compact form,`when not in use,'for.`readytransportation and/or storage, v

Further objects and advantages of the relationship of parts according tothis invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which itpertains, from the detailed description which hereinafter follows` e Theaforementioned objects and` advantages are realized by the-newl andimproved protecting 4means which, according to the invention, imayconsist essentially of a fabric or the likes cap portion adapted to restupon the. wearers# head, a fabric or the likel skirt portiondependingfrom the cap portion'A andessentially encompassing the upperpartof the'wea-rer including his head, neck and shoulders, an inflatablenetting or screen supporting frame attached to saldi capI and skirtportions andfoutlining a face opening inf theI latter, and netting orvscreeningmaterial secured to said portions and extending over saidlsupporting frame'.` i i A presently-preferredembodiment of the in'-.protecting means. of the said; type which can be may be essentiallycircolari-n. shape, i. e. a sort of skull cap, andthe thickness lof thematerial thereof may be suchas `to assure againstpenetration by thesting of an insect.V The material of the cap portion may be rubberized,resin-im` pregnated. or otherwise treated,.if desired, to enhanceitsimpenetrability. y e M I Depending from rthey outer periphery ofthe' cap portion l0. is alskirt portion Il.also preferably made ,ofinsect-impenetrable textile material which, if desired,` may be furthertreated,` as

above suggestedto increase the impenetrability thereof. VSkirt|\Imayxbesecured to cap I0 in any suitable l and/ orl desirableImanner,` as for eX-` ample by stitching and/or cementing and the like.Skirt lll is preferablyof suiiicient length to extend down-,vas,lshown,.over the wearersneck and shoulders. If desired, a tie `I2 `may beprovided -around thejoneck` portion to assure `close contact'atthispoint betweenthefneck and skirt, sothat insects may not penetrateupwardly under the; latter. l 3 L .Thevfront of the skirtportion ll ispreferably cut away to providea faceopening which may essentiallyextend,as shown, from the wearers forehead to his chin in. the verticaldirection and from cheekbone tocheekbone the horizontaldirection.` f

Secured to the edgesfof 'thematerial dening the said face openingis asupporting member which isf indicated per se by reference numeral I3',Fig. u "lhisV supporting member may conveniently assumeI any essentiallyrectangular coniiguration and may comprise top and bottom elevention.`is shown. on. the. accompanying:` sheet of drawings. It is to beunderstood;Y however, that this showing is intended to be merelyillustrative, and not limitativa-in character, the invention beinglimited only to the scope of 'the terms of 4the claims hereuntoappended.

On the aforesaid sheet of drawings,v

Fig. 1 is a general View of the device according to the presentinvention, in use; and

Fig. 2 is a plan View, with portions broken away, of the inflatablesupporting member.

As shown more particularly in Fig. 1, the device may comprise a capportion I0, made of fabric or the like and adapted to be seated on thetop of the wearers hat. The cap portion l0 ments l# and l5- and. sideelements I6 and l'l,v as well as an intermediate transverse element '13:The topand bottom elementsV willrest across the wearersforehead to1chin, respectively, while the side elements will lie along. the wearerscheeks. The cross piece I-8 maybe disposedto bear against the bridge otthe wearers nose'. l

Supporting member; I4 is preferably tubular in construction'and isthereforev capable of bei-ng inflated.` Forthis purpose, an iniiatingtube `I9 may be provided in the bottom element I5 or at any othersuitable point on the supporting member. To innate the supportingmember, the wearer blowsy into the tube yI9 until the desired degree ofinflation has been attained. The tube I9 is then bent over at its center(see Fig. 1) and retained in place by a suitable securing member or clip20. The ination is effected prior to donning the protective headgear.

It is preferred to inflate the supporting member I3 to such extent as toprovide an outer supporting surface for gauze netting or the like 2|which is substantially removed from the wearers face. On the other hand,it is preferred not to fully inflate the member I3 but rather tounderinlate it somewhat. The reason for this is that when the wearerscheek rests on side member I6 or as when the wearer is lying or sleepingon his side, the side element will yield to the pressure of the wearer'sface, and the air in such side element will be displaced to theremainder of the member |3. This yielding or attening of the sideelement makes it possible to wear the protector and sleep on ones sidewith a minimum of discomfort.

The tubular supporting member may be made of any suitable and/ordesirable material, Thus, for example, it may be made of thin rubbertubing or of tubing of rubberized or other fabric. The tubular membermay conveniently .be made of tubing made of silk or rayon, which may besuitably coated and/or impregnated if desired. The tube portions orelements of member I3 may be cemented or vulcanized or sewn orVotherwise joinezd together toform the structure shown in 1g.

Structure |3 may be secured to the adjacent edges of the material oftheprotector in any suitable manner, as by cementing, vulcanization,sewing (loops encompassing the tubular portions) etc. 'The protector maybe made ofseveral standard sizes to t different head sizes.

Netting or screening material 2|, which overlies the support I3v may besecured to the latter or to the fabric material and/or I I in anysuitable and conventional way', as by sewing through the intermediary ofan edge binding strip 23. The material 2|, as is manifest, permits thewearer to see, breathe and speak therethrough, but effectively keepsinsects out. To enhance the wearers hearing capacity while wearing thedevice I the skirt may be provided with eyelet-tted openings 22 at theparts in juxtaposition to the wearers ears. 'Ihese openings arepreferably covered by netting material 2|. If desired, the netting 2Icovering the face opening may be provided with eye-openings covered withtransparent material, such as Cellophane or the like, in conventionalmanner, in order to further facilitate looking through the device.

The protector is easily put on and taken off over the head. It is verylight and readily foldable in compact size, due to the absence of rigidnon-foldable members,.such as wire or rmetal frame members.

The device according to the present invention is particularly useful forsoldiers use in tropical countries and in northern countries where,during certain seasons at least, insects such as mosquitoes and the likeare a nuisance and a threat to the soldiers well-being and efllciency.

It will be apparent that various changes may be made in the details ofthe construction, 1as above described, without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention as defined in the following claims. Thus, forexample, parts III and may be of one and the same sheet of material,instead of being formed of two separated but integrated elements.Moreover, another medium than air may be employed within the tubularframe I3.

What is claimed is:

1. Non-metallic protective head-gear comprising insect-excludingmaterial and an inflatable hollow framework upon which said material isarranged, whereby in use said framework is interposed between saidmaterial and the wearer, said framework being collapsible at any pointthereof under the influence of pressure applied at such point andcomprising portions adapted to extend across and in substantial contactwith the wearers forehead and chin, respectively, and side elementsadapted to extend along and in substantial contact with the wearerscheeks, respectively, said head-gear being foldable into compact form.

2, Non-metallic protective head-gear comprising insect-excludingmaterial and an inflatable hollow framework upon which said material isarranged, whereby in use said framework is interposed between saidmaterial and the wearer, said framework being collapsible at any pointthereof under the influence of pressure applied at such point andcomprising portions adapted to extend across and in substantial contactwith the wearers forehead and chin, respectively, and side elementsadapted to extend along and in substantial contact with the wearerscheeks, respectively and a transverse portion adapted to extend betweensaid side elements intermediate said portions and in substantialcontact-with the wearers nose, said framework being collapsible at anypoint thereof under the influence of pressure applied at such point,whereby the head-gear may be worn while thewearer is lying or sleepingon his side or face.

'3'.Non-metal1ic protective head-gear of the character describedcomprising a covering for the head, neck and shoulders of the wearer,said covering being of insect-impermeablematerial, a

netting-supporting frame attached to said covering and defining a faceopening therein, said frame being collapsible at any point thereof underthe influence of pressure applied atsuch point. nettingrnaterialextending over said frame, and means for securing said netting materialin position, whereby said head-gear may be worn while the wearer islying yor sleeping on his side or face. i

4. Non-metallic protective head-gear of the character described, whichis foldable into compact portable form and comprises anetting-supporting frame, said frame being collapsible at any .pointthereof under the iniiuence of pressure applied at such point, andnetting materialextending over and secured to said frame, whereby saidhead-gear may be worn while the wearer is sleeping.

GEORGE M. LAMSA. o

